Energy absorbing steering wheel

Claim 2

An energy absorbing steering wheel comprising a rim, a hub adapted to be connected to a steering shaft, and a plurality of spokes connecting said rim and hub together, each of said spokes including means for undergoing torsional stress upon the application of a force in a generally axial direction on the radially outer end thereof, said means including first and second generally radially directed portions, said first portion being connected at one end to said hub, and said second portion being connected at one end to said rim, said portions being offset from one another circumferentially, a curved section joining said first and second portions of each said spoke, said curved portions lying in substantially the same plane as said first portions.

Claim 3

An energy absorbing steering wheel as set forth in claim 1 wherein each curved section generally lies on an arc having a substantially constant radius, with the center of such arc being substantially the same as the center of said hub.

Claim 4

An energy absorbing steering wheel comprising a rim member adapted to be grasped for turning the wheel, a centrally located member adapted to connect to a steering shaft rotatable about an axis, and a plurality of spokes connecting said rim member to said centrally located member, each of said spokes including first and second portions, said first portion being connected to said centrally located member and said second portion being connected to said rim, said first and second portions of the same spoke being offset in a circumferential direction from one another, and a connector section joining the radially outer end of said first portion to the radially inner end of said second portion, at least one of said portions being adapted to undergo torsional stress upon the application of a generally axially directed force on the outer end of the respective spoke, said one of said portions of each spoke being generally radially directed and located in a plane generally perpendicular to said axis, the other of said portions of each spoke being generally radially directed and located in a plane which is inclined with respect to said axis, and said connector section being generally arcuate and joined to each of said first and second portions by radiused portions, said connector section being located in substantially the same plane as said one portion, said spokes being substantially equally spaced circumferentially around the wheel with said connector sections substantially spanning the distance between said first portion of one spoke and said other portion of the adjacent spoke.

Claim 5

An energy absorbing steering wheel comprising a rim member adapted to be grasped for turning the wheel, a centrally located member adapted to connect to a steering shaft rotatable about an axis, and a plurality of spokes connecting said rim member to said centrally located member, each of said spokes including first and second portions, said first portion being connected to said centrally located member and said second portion being connected to said rim, said first and second portions of the same spoke being offset in a circumferential direction from one another, and a connector section joining the radially outer end of said first portion to the radially inner end of said second portion, at least one of said portions being adapted to undergo torsional stress upon the application of a generally axially directed force on the outer end of the respective spoke, said one of said portions of each spoke being generally radially directed and located in a plane generally perpendicular to said axis, the other of said portions of each spoke being generally radially directed and located in a plane which is inclined with respect to said axis, and said connector section being generally arcuate and joined to each of said first and second portions by radiused portions, said connector section being located in substantially the same plane as said one portion, said spokes being substantially equally spaced circumferentially around the wheel with said connector sections substantially spanning the distance between said first portion of one spoke and said other portion of the adjacent spoke.

Claim 6

An energy absorbing steering wheel as set forth in claim 3 wherein the application of said force causes said second portion to tend to rotate in one direction relative to said axis and said first portion to rotate in another direction relative to said axis.